I was trying out a few pieces of transcription software and though they didn’t speed up my process it felt like a waste for me to not just finish transcribing and post this for your consumption. This scrum took place during Saturday’s Ann Arbor Aerial Assault camp and exists thanks to Maize & Blue News uploading video of it.

You don't have all the NFL guys [this year]. I mean, you still have goals to get out of this camp? It seems like there's a large interest still and everything.

“Yes, yes. We use a lot of our own players and coaches other college coaches. Just-- there was changing in rules and IAWP status and some NFL players have siblings or they coach at high school so you don't want to go on that road at all. I think it's better at getting all the-- getting other coaches and so it's been good. It's been a good camp.”

The players are pretty involved. It seems like they are eager to teach--

You guys are done with camps, you've been back around the guys a couple of days here, spent more time with them than you had been in May. Of course, you were gone.

“Yeah. Less camps; we've been around here more. Been here since the beginning of June.”

There's a lot out true freshmen that are hanging out here. Have you gotten to kind of get to know those guys in a way that you hadn't before?

“Yeah, we're starting to, we're starting to. We've really had an emphasis to improve the commitment and the accountability and so far that's been been working nicely.”

What are these young guys who weren't here in the spring have to kind of--what can they gain here in the next couple of months?

“You can gain a lot by watching. Can observe a lot by just watching, and they're slowly working into the workouts. They're voluntary workouts right now so they don't become full-time until we start classes and orientation June 24th.”

What date are you starting camp?

“July 31st.”

[Read the last answer after THE JUMP and tell me that’s not a lesson learned from experience]

Ace: That dude was built like a house as a senior and it was clear he could add another house.

Seth: Poor Helmholdt. We've probably hung that over his head more than any one ranking by anyone in history.

Brian: He's got a few more in the pipeline if he doesn't drag Mayfield and Hayes into the top 15 in state. But this is a key factor in ridiculous rankings: you miss when everyone else is on point. Sure, nobody saw a draftable CB in Jeremy Clark but I can't blame 'em for that.

Seth: So no Kevin Grady, even though Tom Lemming made him his #7 player in the country.

In. The. Country.

Brian: A key factor, not the. You can fire away on that ranking. By Grady's second year it was clear ranking him as a five star was total nonsense.

Ace: And we were all a little leery of his film when he was a recruit. But nobody flat-out said “De’Veon Smith is better” because of those dang rankings.

Seth: You're thinking of Green.

Ace: Ah crap, same thing.

Brian: A good answer to this question is "any highly touted Michigan tailback."

Seth: A-Train was way up there. #2 overall RB I think.

Brian: A-Train was so far back in the day that it has less impact. Literal mailmen were doing rankings then.

Seth: Well I may just happen to have some of those mailed Prep Football Reports and Prepstars in reach of my desk for some reason.

Brian: Grady was worse than Green because at least Green was a legitimately huge person. I have no idea what anyone was thinking about in re: Grady.

As first reported by the one and only Adrian Wojnarowski, the Milwaukee Bucks selected DJ Wilson with the 17th overall pick in tonight's NBA Draft. Despite missing most of the pre-draft process due to a lingering injury, Wilson rose from a fringe first-rounder to nearly making it into the lottery. He joins one of the most exciting young teams in the league; the Bucks earned the sixth seed in the East last year with a lineup featuring Giannis "The Greek Freak" Antetokuonmpo, Jabari Parker, Khris Middleton, Greg Monroe, and Malcolm Brogdon.

Milwaukee has some talented players in the frontcourt, so Wilson should be able to ease his way into the rotation—his defensive versatility and shooting are his keys to seeing the floor. Wilson is the eighth Michigan player to be drafted under John Beilein, all since 2011, and the sixth to go in the first round.

The list of guys Meyer recruited at Michigan is a long and impressive one; also he got bizarrely chewed out by Tom Crean that one time. He will be missed. Beilein's had a knack for finding new coaches of late, so the program probably won't take much of a hit. The most relevant bit of this for Michigan fans may be what it says about Jordan: being able to snag a high profile assistant from Michigan is impressive. If he can keep Butler at its current level, Michigan's post-Beilein coaching search may well be one phone call.

I haven't seen any names for Meyer's replacement yet, which is somewhat unusual. Saadi Washington was instantly a likely hire when Alexander and Jordan departed for head jobs elsewhere. There is someone available…

[Bryan Fuller]

Before you spit roast my head, consider that this would get Jim Harbaugh behind Michigan's bench at basketball games? And it would be really funny? And Crean might do it to get his furious revenge on Indiana? Yes? Maybe? No. Fine.

University of Iowa Athletic Department officials were teed off enough about Norm Macdonald’s Sunday night comedy act that they yanked his golf invitation for Monday.

Several members of the audience left during Macdonald’s act, which contained references to sex acts, AIDS and homosexuality. The comic alluded to the stream of people leaving the auditorium, but continued his set. “What do you want to talk about? Losing your luggage at the airport?” he asked as people left.

U of I Athletic Director Bob Bowlsby said Macdonald’s act “would be considered to be in very bad taste in nearly every venue in America.” Athletic Department spokesman Rick Klatt said the U of I was assured during contract negotiations that Macdonald could meet guidelines. “We were very explicit about the details of the event, and about the type of people who would be there,” Klatt said.

Mike Bridenstine, Los Angeles-based comedian/writer who grew up in Muscatine and attended the show as a teen:

“The joke that got the biggest/worst reaction was about bestiality porn. Old people and little kids were filing out. My mom felt so uncomfortable that she walked into the lobby, but complained, ‘They piped the sound out there too.’

“I physically hurt from laughing."

I went to a Norm MacDonald show at about the same time—maybe a couple of years later—and the main thing I remember from it is somehow Norm arrived at a point where it made sense to say "this cake here is my girlfriend. I f---ed it last night." I did not realize it at the time but I now know the show would have been greatly improved if Kirk Ferentz was there, fuming.

Norm himself:

“I didn’t even know anything was wrong. And then the next day these guys ... from some radio station or something, like I was sleeping, and they start asking these questions, you know. I didn’t know what to do, so I just tried to be funny. They go ‘Do you think your act is obscene?’ So I said ‘No, I think what’s obscene is there’s like kids dying in Vietnam, you know?’

After returning from Michigan’s trip to Rome, Speight continued to watch every play from the entire season.

“I watched a little bit before spring ball, as well, but I got back to America and immediately went and clicked on the film and started watching that and knocked it all out,” Speight said. “Watched every game twice. There were certain plays in a few games at the end of the year that I wish I could have changed, but that’s what you live and learn from and you get better.”

He's imbibed the tao of Harbaugh when it comes to his injury:

He won’t be specific about the injury but said the shoulder is “back to 100 percent.” He also won’t say if he had surgery and turns coy when the subject comes up.

Vincent Smith is building momentum. He takes two short strides, sinking his hips like a retracting pinball plunger, and then launches himself clear over an 8-foot swath of freshly tilled and seeded earth. Smith gathers the five-gallon bucket of winter rye seeds next to his landing spot and moves on to the next patch of dirt.

It's late October in Michigan, and Smith is doing what he can to prep his garden-in-progress for the cold months ahead. The vacant lot he is trying to repurpose sits two blocks from the infamous Flint River, which in recent years delivered lead-tainted waters to the citizens of one of the Rust Belt's most down-on-its-luck cities. The rest of the street is lined by houses that range from worn but loved to dilapidated. The house that once stood on Smith's lot caught fire, and the city ordered its demolition several years earlier. He and a band of helpers spent weeks picking pieces of the old house and other garbage out of the ground when they decided last year that it was a good candidate to be turned into a community garden.

It will be interesting to see how his frame develops as he matures, since he already possess the skill set of a stretch-4, but he needs to add toughness and competitiveness to not emerge as a one-dimensional player. With NBA teams continue to search for big men who can shoot, handle, pass and switch, Wilson is a strong first round pick candidate and should have plenty of chances to break into an NBA rotation. - Source:

That's why he's in the draft: he's perfect for the modern NBA, where centers are power forwards who are expected to switch onto point guards and shoot threes. There's a 0% chance someone doesn't take him in the first round, because if he continues developing he can be part of a devastating five-out offense. Also despite being 21 he's got the upside of a younger player. Beilein:

"He’s just on his way to being a really good player," Beilein said. "He can really shoot. Put it together with his defense … he’s 21 with a body of a 19-year-old. The best is yet to come for him. He’s a super kid on and off the court; very coachable.

Kwity Paye's sudden emergence on Michigan's recruiting board was met with a ton of skepticism initially, what with Michigan pursuing a large number of more-touted defensive linemen. The sudden flip of a who-dat from BC spurred consternation… until it became clear that Michigan's plan was to take everybody no matter what. Okay then. Let's go.

Paye remains under the radar but has a few arrows pointing up. One: like Josh Metellus before him, Paye found a sympathetic ranker at ESPN. ESPN's model has its ups and downs but they do give everyone an in-depth scout from a pro at some point in their recruitment. When they step out of line on a guy who is otherwise a generic three-star they have a good reason—one not related to camps.

Two: Paye is from Don Brown country. After a career spent largely in the little-scouted Northeast, you can make a case that Brown has the connections and evaluation chops to find and acquire true sleepers. The method of Paye's acquisition suggests that he was no backup plan like MA S Ifeatu Melifonwu, who Michigan flirted with at the end of the cycle. (Michigan apparently passed, and I still wish they hadn't.) Brown offered and got a commitment from him at BC. Paye flipped in late October, when Michigan had a ton of lines out. VT and ND were also sniffing around.

Three: Paye is a refugee, having fled Guinea with his family when he was six months old. Michigan has had a lot of success with refugees in the recent past. Amara Darboh and Jehu Chesson were both successes with zero off-field issues. Paye's quotes sound a lot like the stuff Chesson said during his recruitment that caused the "jehu chesson is 1000 years old" tag to spring into existence:

"From freshman year to varsity football, I knew I had to study the playbook, I knew I had to ask questions, I had to make sure that I watched film to understand other teams' playbooks. Mentally I just had to focus a lot more, just try to buckle down and understand everything that was going on around me."

He's got a better than average shot of hitting his ceiling.

That ceiling is fuzzy but potentially enticing. Paye skipped the camp scene entirely since he thought his recruitment was over the minute he committed to BC, so we don't have firm testing numbers. We do have a few hints that Paye's physical package belies his modest recruiting profile. He attended Notre Dame's camp, where he won the 40 for his position group. Here here's Don Brown yelling it at your face:

…unbelievable athlete. He plays tailback as well as defensive end. He could play up and down on defense, which is another sign of his athleticism. I have worked with him personally. He is an outstanding pass rusher, and his size potential is off the charts. I anticipate him being an open side defensive end.

Very good height with good bulk on a lean, wiry built frame. … Inconsistent, but displays above average first-step. … Demonstrates ability to take on blockers with pad level and when maintains good 'football position' can hold ground one-on-one … Good play speed and range to be factor in pursuit with effort. … Flashes ability to come off and transfer speed-to-power, but aspect of arsenal he needs to further develop. …needs to further develop use of his weapons … good physical tools though still a bit raw … intriguing upside. Could develop and fit well in a hybrid DE/OLB role.

…outstanding closing speed … impressive 'next gear' once he's got an unobstructed path to the quarterback. … willingness to lay out to make a highlight-reel block in the open field, and the force with which he delivers blows on ball carriers -- those speak to an intensity and a self-motivation that can't be taught or learned. … athleticism is undeniable.

"It's really hard to put an accurate ranking on a guy like Kwity Paye … At a place like Michigan, with coaching from Don Brown, he could really blossom into a special player. … I like his potential a lot. … very physically talented and can really run for a big, built defensive lineman."

Scout ended up the most pessimistic site by some distance, and their scouting reflects it. Brian Dohn:

…good closing speed and he plays with high energy. …. needs to improve his explosiveness at the snap of the ball to put more pressure on the offensive tackle so he can use speed around the edge to go with his power and inside moves. His hands are active and he has good strength.

"Athleticism," "explosion," and "quickness off ball" were listed as areas for improvement. Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the defensive end?

While that last take is an outlier the more excited ones are also based on trying to prize out useful information from Rhode Island high school football. In a recruitment this mysterious, Don Brown working this guy out in person and immediately wanting him at BC, then pursuing him again at Michigan is probably the best evidence he's a potential dude.

Paye got into the UA game via fan vote, failed to impress immediately, and was seemingly forgotten about by evaluators afterwards. The circumstances in which he failed to impress were a bit ridiculous, though:

Not only is this dude from Rhode Island going up against a composite five-star, he's playing DT at 230-ish. Rivals described this as "lining up slightly out of position," which… no. Once restored to his edge rush spot Paye started coming around. Later in the week he was winning most of his one on ones.

By the time the game rolled around he'd gotten the hang of things. He had a TFL, a couple QB hurries and generally looked like he belonged. Rivals's Mike Farrell tossed him a mention in his postgame awards as the "Lunch Pail" guy—basically the gent at the game nobody is really talking about who performed well. Paye described his trajectory himself:

"The first day I struggled a lot because it was my first time seeing any of the competition like that," he said. "I had to sit down and think about what I was doing wrong and then just make that adjustment. I started to do well over the course of practice and when the game time came I would say I performed pretty well the time that I was in. I disrupted a couple passes and got to the quarterback a bit."

Paye's performance, combined with a strong senior season, saw his rankings improve significantly. He went from around 1000th on the composite to around 500th. He's now just outside the range where I'd list him as a 3.5* recruit.

Paye told MLive's Matt Wenzel that he was up to 250 as of late May, which would seem to confirm Brown's exitement about his size potential. If he's truly that weight and truly 6'4" he will have no trouble getting up to an ideal WDE weight and could even have a backup plan at SDE. That is definitely a backup plan, though. Brown wants to see if he can turn raw clay into edge terror.

Why Frank Clark? Clark was a high upside, sushi raw weakside end Michigan plucked out of obscurity. His recruiting profile is amongst the most bizarre in the genre: he was listed at 210 pounds by recruiting sites and evaluated as a TE, WR, LB, and DE. There was no senior film. Clark grew into a big-time WDE over the course of his career; he felt like a body in search of some instruction for most of his career before a senior-year breakout that led to a second round NFL draft selection.

Mario Ojemudia is another potential comparable. He was a 3/4 star tweener who played a radically undersized DT in high school and eventually developed into a solid DE/OLB hybird… sort of. Then-DC DJ Durkin abandoned the OLB portion of his duties after a rough go early; Ojemudia remained a steady contributor and zone-read defender until his Achilles blew out. Ojemudia always struggled with size, topping out around 250, so Clark is a better comparison.

Taco Charlton is another dude in this genre of raw WDE athlete, but he's 6'6" and exited high school a consensus four star due to crazy leaping feats. Paye is more of a shot in the dark than that.

Guru Reliability: Low. Understandably so: Rhode Island competition and a total lack of camps until UA, which was always going to be Paye being thrown into the deep end and unlikely to be particularly enlightening.

Variance: High-minus. Could curl up and die when playing guys his size or bigger; could be Frank Clark. Background helps.

Ceiling: High. Has an NFL frame and could be quick-twitch enough to draw early-round NFL interest by the time things are said and done.

General Excitement Level: Moderate-plus. Boom or bust prospect who shades towards success because of Don Brown.

Projection: Despite his rawness Paye has a decent shot to play this year. The WDE depth chart currently reads "Winovich/???" and those question marks will either be true freshman or Ron Johnson, who was last spotted trying to be a DT during spring practice. Recruiting rankings suggest that Luiji Vilain will be t he guy slotting in second but a third DE will play during garbage time and in case of injury; Paye could be that guy.

I'd rather he's not, because he's the exact sort of recruit you want to get that fifth year from—a high upside player who will take a lot of time to get there—and the most likely outcome is that he plays sparingly before getting shut down at midseason with a lingering injury. Small chance he beats out Vilain and is on the two deep all year.

Winovich is (probably) around for 2018 as well, leaving Paye to fight for the WDE job as (probably) a redshirt sophomore in 2019. Paye, Vilain, Corey Malone-Hatcher, Rueben Jones, Johnson and assorted freshmen will be in the running; if you asked me right now I'd guess Paye is in a group of closely-matched folks chasing Vilain and is likely to act as the Winovich to his Charlton.

John Beilein has spent ten seasons in Ann Arbor. As of the most recent, he's the winningest coach in program history with 215. He snapped Michigan's post-sanction tournament drought in 2009, the first of seven NCAA appearances with the Wolverines, three of which have extended at least into the second weekend.

In recognition of the above, as well as the need for offseason #content, I've put together a series of All-Beilein teams, inspired by this twitter post and the ensuing conversation. My guidelines:

I'm attempting to put together the best possible lineups, which isn't necessarily the same as picking the best individual players at each spot.

I'm choosing individual player vintages (i.e. 2013 Trey Burke). A player can only be chosen once for each category, but different player years (i.e. freshman bench gunner 2014 Zak Irvin and well-rounded senior 2017 Zak Irvin) can be eligible for separate categories.

The same player/year can be chosen for multiple categories—for instance, 2013 Mitch McGary making the All-Bench team doesn't exclude him from making the final All-Beilein team.

Eligibility for certain categories may be slightly fudged because of the limited pool of players.
I'm not putting too many constraints on myself for this exercise since the point is to let our imaginations run wild.

Today's lineup is a fun one. Small ball has taken basketball by storm, and it's a style Beilein teams know quite well. What would the lineup look like if you tried to field a team that could shoot the lights out, switch everything on defense, and provide matchup problems across the board? Here's a squad that would absolutely wreck Purdue.

POINT GUARD: 2012-13 TREY BURKE

Burke vs. Switch. Advantage: Burke. [Bryan Fuller]

Well, yeah, the national player of the year is going to make this team. Burke was a killer off the high screen with his combination of vision, decision-making, passing, finishing, and pull-up shooting. While he didn't have the reputation of a defensive specialist, he graded out well on that end of the floor, and his timely steals would lead to some spectacular transition buckets.

I'd tell you that a team that can space the floor and give Burke room to operate would lead to amazing things, but you already know that, because you also watched the 2013 squad.